Sometimes the wine isn’t so important

If you’re here to read about wine I apologise. I will mention wine. Not very good wine. Because sometimes it really doesn’t matter. Well it does matter; but sometimes great food is enough, and wine is simply the sideshow.

My place where this is the case is Hanako in Watford. It is my very favourite place to eat. It is run by an amazing couple; the husband used to be the head chef at the Japanese embassy, his wife is the perfect hostess. There is no wine list but it just doesn’t matter. When we’re asked what we want to drink we simply say “a bottle of white wine, please”. It’s usually a bottle of Kumala branded averageness, or this last time a Pinot Grigio/Trebbiano blend of not muchness. But when food is this good… So what!

Whether you like sashimi, sushi, tempura, noodles or curry, there’s something here for you. This last visit we had prawn and cuttlefish tempura and beef tataki to start. The prawn tempura is the best battered fish anywhere, the cuttlefish is amazing and the rice wine/soy sauce dressing with the tataki is sublime.

Then we had the mixed sashimi & sushi plate. Bloody brilliant. The salmon, tuna, scallop and sea bream sashimi. The amazing hand rolls and nigiri…it’s all so good. And compared to anywhere else in London, its very decent value (Japanese is never cheap!)

I know I should give the saki a go, or should suggest a few decent bottles, but do you know what? When the food is this good, don’t whine about the wine!